Do you think they were having difficult time selling the pieces Patek allocated to them?

You hear different rumors as to why a watch store loses its AD status. Some say an AD discounted "too much". Others say that they didn't have enough real customers and sold mainly to gray dealers. Then there are stories of an AD not wanting or able to expend the capital necessary to renovate and create a special Patek section within their store. And sometimes you never know what the real story was behind the AD status loss.

Good questions jon jon. Could be a bit of both as Patek is being shyed away from nowadays other than a small handful if models. Does Patek let dealers order only the models that are selling?

I suspect smaller jewelers/watch stores will continue losing Patek AD licenses not just in the US, but also in the EU.

AFAIK, ADs can request popular models, but they are also supplied with watches that are slow sellers. So unless an AD is located in one of the 20 or so largest US metro areas, their customer base is going to be limited. Also no walk-in traffic from international tourists limit the sales of these "slow sellers".

Do you think they were having difficult time selling the pieces Patek allocated to them?

You hear different rumors as to why a watch store loses its AD status. Some say an AD discounted "too much". Others say that they didn't have enough real customers and sold mainly to gray dealers. Then there are stories of an AD not wanting or able to expend the capital necessary to renovate and create a special Patek section within their store. And sometimes you never know what the real story was behind the AD status loss.

Buyers of mid market modern Patek. Stick with your small market friendly pricing AD or start buying from a bigger name to get ahead of the curve? Sure you can diversify (buy from both) but for the primo goods that may not work?

We know that the watch market globally has been very soft over the past couple of years. However demand for Patek and Rolex are still decent compared to many of the other Swiss watch companies.

Many ADs that carry multiple Swiss watch brands are dropping some brands that are not selling well. However I have not heard of an AD voluntarily relinquishing a Patek or Rolex AD license. Usually it is Patek or Rolex severing the tie with the AD. AP and Omega has dropped ADs from their network as well, but that is more to do with their expanding focus on having company-owned boutiques.